[1] Elliott was born at Gundaroo, New South Wales, where his parents had a pastoral property, and educated at local schools.
He walked from the then rail-head at Southern Cross to Coolgardie, prospected in various places, mainly at Mount Margaret, and managed several outback mines and batteries.
In 1921, he was largely responsible for making the tributers' case at a Royal Commission into the practice which resulted in legislative reforms.
[4][5][6] In 1937, he was involved in establishing the Amalgamated Prospectors of Western Australia, serving as its inaugural president until his death the following year, in 1938.
Catherine was a prominent Kalgoorlie figure in her own right, having been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1936 for her community and public health work, and unsuccessfully contested the by-election two years later, caused by his death, as the endorsed Nationalist candidate.